Greenbaum keeps finding the ‘Spirit in the Sky’

ON THE COVER —Norman Greenbaum wrote 160 songs before striking gold with ‘Spirit in the Sky’ that’s made its way until more than 75 films and TV shows. Greenbaum’s a special guest New Year’s Eve with Sons of Champlin at the Empress Theatre.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Norman Greenbaum was — and remains — a quirky songwriter whose ‘Spirit in the Sky’ (album cover, above) is still recognizable almost immediately.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Norman Greenbaum figures he wrote some 160 songs before “Spirit in the Sky” was released in 1970. And, as if it by inspirational lightning, he wrote the lyrics to his signature song in 15 minutes.

“When I die and they lay me to rest

Gonna go to the place that’s the best

When I lay me down to die

Goin’ up to the spirit in the sky ...”

A gold album, featured in more than 50 movies, TV shows and commercials later, he’s still eternally linked with the song that, said Greenbaum, “took on a life of its own.”

A Santa Rosa resident, Greenbaum almost became the first line in the song last May when he was seriously injured in a vehicle accident that killed a motorcyclist.

Greenbaum broke his jaw in three places, fractured his clavicle, “screwed up” one of his eyes, and spent nine weeks in the hospital.

“I was a mess. It was pretty bad,” said Greenbaum, believing he’s “80 percent healthy.”

Apparently, that’s good enough to get back on the stage, which he’ll do at the Empress Theatre in Vallejo on New Year’s Eve as a guest of Bill Champlin and the Sons of Champlin.

While in the hospital, Greenbaum had time to ponder: “I mostly thought about getting out of there,” he said. “And eating better food.”

With “The Eggplant That Ate Chicago” and “California Earthquakes” and “The Day Sold Beer in Church” among his song-writing credits, the 74-year-old can’t be kept from the microphone.

“I’m talking to some people and, in fact, we’re planning on sitting down right after the holidays and see if we cam put something together,” Greenbaum said by fact last week. I’m healthy enough to do it now.”

Greenbaum shrugs off the “one-hit wonder” description. Hey, if people keep buying the hit, what’s the problem?

“Rather than just a song, it’s become an amazing piece of work,” Greenbaum said. “When you write songs, you don’t expect them to last almost 50 years and get so much attention.”

Beyond the exposure in major films — “Remember the Titans,” “Wayne’s World 2,” “The Longest Yard, “Suicide Square” are a few — “Spirit in the Sky” was ranked No. 85 in VH1’s 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders. And Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Spirit in the Sky” No. 333 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

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“Spirit in the Sky” spent 15 weeks on Billboard’s Top 100, reaching No. 3. Greenbaum has had two other songs in the Top 100 — “Canned Ham,” which grunted to No. 46 four months after “Spirit” hit, and “California Earthquake,” which shook its way to No. 93 a year later.

In it’s “heyday,” the song was in the Top 5 “all over the world,” said Greenbaum, including three times at No. 1 in England, “which is pretty good.”

Greenbaum still gets plenty of emails from fans.

“The song itself has become important in people’s lives,” Greenbaum said. “It makes them feel better. It’s passed on through generations.”

The odds were against “Spirit in the Sky” ever getting airplay, Greenbaum noted, since it’s 4 minutes, 4 seconds long.

“In those days, a single was 2:30 long and disc jockeys talked a lot,” Greenbaum said.“But the audience couldn’t get enough of the infectious beat. And it’s still the same way. The song is that beloved.”

Greenbaum said he doesn’t take it for granted, often feeling like pinching himself at the song’s success.

“I feel that way all the time,” he said, adding that he’s grateful many fans “were praying for me” after his near-fatal accident.

“Almost every day I wake up I’m happy to be here and part of people’s lives,” he said.

Admittedly, Greenbaum said he had been doing “oddball” songs until “I had gotten serious” with “Spirit in the Sky.”

“I realized that’s what I needed to do to continue my career,” he said.

Yes, there was pressure from the record label to have a hit like “Spirit,” said Greenbaum. It didn’t happen.

“You can’t expect me to write another ‘Spirit in the Sky’ because there just isn’t one,” he said.

There were times Greenbaum — as a Jew — had to defend lyrics that included “Gotta have a friend in Jesus ...”

He said one can take a creative license as a song writer, pointing out that Irving Berlin, also Jewish, wrote “White Christmas.”

“As a writer, you can write about anything. That’s why you’re a writer,” Greenbaum said. “You shouldn’t be constricted about the way you grew up or your religion.”

He said his family was initially shocked at the song, but inevitably accepted his success.